Boycott stores that stock K2

Published 8:00 pm, Tuesday, August 24, 2010

On Monday, the Michigan Senate took a big step toward protecting the state’s youth from a dangerous new drug that anyone can currently purchase locally and legally.

Senate Bill 1373, which passed unanimously, would make illegal any substance that mimics the effects of marijuana. Similar bills, HB 6226 and HB 6038, passed June 23 in Michigan’s House. All versions currently ban K2 and similar substances effective Oct. 1. We applaud members of the House and the Senate for their quick action to prevent the use of this dangerous drug.

While the drug has been around for at least six years, it’s been underground until recently. So far, at least two deaths have been linked to its use — a Dallas teen who died from the substance itself and an Iowa teen who suffered a panic attack and shot himself after smoking it. Locally, a teenager from Port Hope collapsed in Kinde after reportedly smoking K2.

Before the Port Hope teen’s collapse, no one in the newsroom had ever heard of the substance.

While it’s sold as incense, K2 costs $20 to $35 a gram. We doubt anyone is buying this stuff to put in an incense burner; calling it incense is simply a way to get around drug laws. Since incense is not intended for human consumption, it is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. K2 and similar substances could contain anything, including poisons.

According to the consensus of various Internet reports from people who tried K2, including a reporter who wrote an article about his experience, the substance produces a high similar to marijuana, but does not last as long. Some people reported severe throat irritation and headaches after smoking it. K2 is reportedly inferior to marijuana in the length of the high and smokability, and at nearly $1,000 an ounce when buying it by the gram, it’s several times more expensive.

The appeal, therefore, is the fact that K2 is currently legal, while getting caught with a joint can put a person behind bars for up to a year.

K2 likely will be illegal as of Oct. 1, but that still leaves more than a month for stores to sell the product and for teenagers to stock up. We don’t want to say which stores sell K2, as that could act as an advertisement, but we have confirmed that it is sold locally.

Stores that sell K2 or similar products are no better than street-level drug dealers. They’re out to make a quick buck and they don’t care that what they’re selling could hurt or kill their customers. Therefore, we’re calling for a boycott of any store that preys on its customers by making synthetic marijuana available. If you see the product behind the counter, do not give that store your business. Put down whatever you were planning to buy, tell the cashier you don’t approve of the store selling dangerous drugs and leave.

Store owners who sell synthetic marijuana are harming our community for profit. The only way to get through to them is to hurt them where they’ll feel it most —their bank account.